This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Thursday, 2 September 2010

Allah (s.w.t.) Gave Us Seven Names

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ
ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The
following is adapted from a swuhbah
from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 28th March 2010.

All teachings must lead the student to one conclusion -
that he must correct and improve himself always.Hence,
every lesson must guide the student in that direction, to improve his spiritual
self, as that is the one that returns toakhirah;
the physical being simply becomes dust. Allah
(s.w.t.) Revealed the Qur’an as a Guide towards that direction.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Alif Lam Mim. This is the Book; in it is Guidance sure,
without doubt, to those who are conscious of Allah. (Surah al-Baqarah:1-2)

And this Qur’anic advice helps to loosen our obstinacy
and to gradually pry open our closed hearts and minds. Each human being has a physical being from
the earth, and a spiritual self from the heavens, and each of us has seven
Divinely-Given names. Adam (a.s.)
and all his descendents were Gathered on the Day of Promises, and Allah (s.w.t.)
Spoke to mankind.

When thy Lord Drew forth from the Children of Adam
- from their loins - their descendants, and Made them testify concerning
themselves, (Asking), “Am I not your Lord (Who Cherishes and Sustains you)?” -
They said, “Yea! We do testify!” (This), lest ye should say on the Day of
Judgment, “Of this, we were never mindful.” (Surah al-A’araf:172)

Every single human being that was Created was Gathered
there.It was a historic moment, a glorious event, for it was the first
meeting of our real beings with the Divine. It was an event set in a glorious
panorama, and Allah (s.w.t.) Addressed
our spiritual beings, not our physical beings. Honour is for our spiritual beings, for it was
that being that Allah (s.w.t.) had Addressed. When we do not know something, we must be
humble enough to admit, and to say that we do not know.When
we meet someone who can teach us something, we must humble ourselves, and
learn.
We must always say to ourselves, “I am but a student.”Most
people are blind: they do not understand, but they never admit to being so, so
they continue to remain in blindness.Many read the Qur’an as if it were
just an ordinary story book, so they cannot understand what it conceals and
what it reveals.

Allah (s.w.t.) Addressed all of mankind on the Day
of Promises. This question had been Posed
to all of mankind as a congregation.Allah (s.w.t.) is Able to Speak
to all of mankind, in one instant since everyone has a Connection to his Lord. No Creation could Exist without such a Connection.It
happened in an instant for all, because neither time nor space existed, at that
moment. Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din ibn ‘Arabi (q.s.)
said that Allah (s.w.t.) had Created 124,000 Adams, each one having been
the first man of his own earth, and our very own Prophet Adam (a.s.),
was the last of these 124 000.Shaykh ibn ‘Arabi (q.s.) was
indeed telling the truth. He had Seen
the Reality. He was not looking for
worldly benefits. He only sought to be
with his Lord so there was no benefit for him to concoct tales.

Allah's (s.w.t.)
Attributes, areAzaliyyunAbadiyyun, permanent, from the
pre-eternity to eternity.So when Allah (s.w.t.) Posed to
us all that question, on the Day of Promises, it is still so. Allah’s (s.w.t.) Speech is Everlasting,
so that question made to us on that Day is still relevant and true, up until
forever. Allah (s.w.t.) Knows
each one of us intimately, just as a father would know each of his children's
names and characteristics, even if he had a hundred children. Allah (s.w.t.) Knows all of us,
intricately.On that Day of Promises, Allah (s.w.t.) had Called each
one of us, by every one of our seven Divinely-Given names.

The first name that Allah (s.w.t.) had called us by on that Day was “‘Abdullah,” the “Servant
of Allah,” and we were in great happiness and ecstasy when Called by that name.
We were swooning in incomparable Bliss.Allah’s
(s.w.t.) Speech isAbadiyyun Azaliyyun, we are forever
His Servant.We are all “‘Abdullah.” Only
as His Servant, will we find Bliss, so we must not be servants to anyone but
Him.